Metal container



Get. 22, 1946.

w. F. PUNTE 2,409,793

' METAL CONTAINER Filed Aug. 9, 1944 j'fgi] a.

Imnentor (Ittorneg -5 Patented Oct. 22, 1946 tinental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 9, 1944, Serial No. 548,663

1 Claim. 1

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in a container and more particularly to a retainer disposed within the container and dividing the body portion of the container into separate article retaining pockets.

An object of the inventionis to provide a container of the above type with a bottom member disposed within the container and formed from a single piece, which body member is so shaped and folded as to provide longitudinal and transverse partitions disposed so as to divide said container into separate article retaining pockets.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container of the above type wherein the retainer is made. from a single piece of metal by .cutting and folding the same so as to form therefrom longitudinal partitions extending from one end of the retainer to the other and transverse partitions disposed between the longitudinal partitions.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a container of the above type wherein the retainer is frictionally held within the body portion of the container.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part be hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawing which shows by way of illustration one embodiment of the invention,

Figure 1 is a plain view of a container em- .bodying the improvements, the cover being removed from the body portion;

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure l with the cover in place;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 with the cover in place; and

Figure 4 is a view of a blank cut preparatory to folding for forming the retainer.

The invention as illustrated, is embodied in a container wherein the body portion I is drawn from a metal blank and is shaped so as to provide longitudinal side members 2-2 and transverse end members 3-3. The side members and end members are preferably joined by rounded corner sections. The end and side walls and also the corner portions are inset so as to provide a recess 4 within the container all the way around the bottom of the container. This offsetting of the wall inwardly also provides a shoulder 5.

The cover 6 is likewise drawn from a blank and is shaped so as to provide side and end walls which telescope over the walls of the body of the container with a fairly snug friction fit. The lower edge of the skirt of the cover rests on the shoulder 5.

Within the body portion is a retainer shaped to provide individual pockets for the articles stored in the container. This retainer is made from a single piece of metal, indicated at 8 in Figure 4 of the drawing. This blank is of substantially the same length as the interior of the body portion. The blank is cut through at six different places, each of which when folded, form a transverse partition. These are all alike and the description of one will answer for the other. The blank is cut from the points 9 and Ill along parallel lines which are joined by a rounded portion II. This cut-out section which is integral with the blank along the line from the point 9 to the point I0 is folded along the line o-a, also along the line bb and again along the line c-c. This forms an upstanding wall l2 which is integral with a similar wall I3 carrying a lateral extension [4 at its lower end. The blank 8 is also folded along the lin :c--;t, again along the line y--y, and again along the line zz, and this forms longitudinal partitions consisting of upstanding walls l5 and I6 which are connected at ll (see Fig. 2). These transverse partitions formed by the folding of the cut-out portion lie between the longitudinal partitions. The longitudinal partitions are continuous from one end of the blank to the other. These partitions are so disposed relative to each other as to provide a plurality of retaining pockets for the articles to be stored in the container. As shown in the drawing, there are nine pockets adapted to receive nine articles.

The retainer which will be referred to as a whole by the numeral l8 has the side edges thereof turned upward as indicated at I9-l9. The retainer is so dimensioned that these side edges will snap into the recess 4 and thus the retainer is held in the body part of the container. The upturned part 'ofthe retainer l5 and I6 will yield to permit this snapping in of the retainer.

The container is suitable for various types of articles and is particularly adapted for the packaging of cough drops and the like. Certain types of cough drops contain a liquid content and in order that these articles may be inspected without opening the package, the bottom wall is provided with an opening 20 and the cover is provided with an opening 2 I. These openings are in alignment and they are also in alignment with the opening formed by the cut-out portion to form a transverse partition. The article placed in this compartment having the openings associated therewith can be inspected without opening the container.

The container, as noted above, is preferably drawn from a blank and is therefore made of metal. Likewise the retainer is preferably made of metal. It will be understood, however, that from certain aspects the container body and retainer may be made of other material than metal, It is also obvious that the partitions may be differently arranged so as to divide the body portion into any desired number of retainer pockets, and the container body may be made of other shapes than rectangular with rounded corners without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

A metal container for packaging a plurality of articles comprising a body portion, a closure therefor, and a single-piece metal bottom member fitting within said body portion, said bottom member being folded longitudinally to form double wall partitions extending continuously from one end thereof to the other, said bottom portion between said partitions having U-shaped cuts with the legs thereof extending longitudinally and the cut portion folded back upon itself so as to provide transverse double wall partitions disposed between the side Walls of the container and the longitudinal partitions so as to divide the body portion of the container into separate article holding pockets.

I WILLIAM F. PUNTE. 

